Saturday, 27 June 2015

The End Times Revelation of the Ark of the Covenant

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. (Rev 11:19)

The above passage of the Apocalypse is the last mention of the Ark of the Covenant in the Bible, and is closely associated with the Woman Adorned with the Sun in the following chapter. Catholics and Orthodox alike traditionally hold that the Ark of the Covenant prefigures the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Theotokos (which means "God-bearer" in Greek); and similarly accept that the purpose of the juxtaposition between the vision of the Ark at the end of Rev 11 with the appearance of the Woman Adorned with the Sun at the start of Rev 12 is to intentionally draw a comparison between these archetypes. The Ark of the Covenant, which housed the presence of God in the form of the Divine Shekhinah Glory, directly prefigures the Woman who would bear the Eternal Logos within her own body. Indeed the Virgin Mary has been equated with the Ark of the New Covenant since the earliest days of Christianity. Writing in the third century, for example, St. Gregory Thaumaturgus (c.213-c.270), makes this analogy fully explicit:“The ark is verily the holy Virgin, gilded within and without, who received the treasure of universal sanctification. Arise, O Lord, from the Father’s bosom, to raise up again the ruined race of our first parent”St. Gregory Thaumaturgus (Orat. in Deip. Annunciat. Int. Opp. S. Greg. Thaumaturg) The fact that the exposition of the Ark of the Covenant at the end of the cycle concerning the Two Witnesses is immediately followed by the "Great Sign" seen in heaven at the opening of Rev 12 - a vision of the Theotokos, suggests that these two elements are inextricably linked. At the same time, the vision of the Ark of the Covenant in the Apocalypse also appears to be closely related to the widespread belief in ancient Judaism that the Ark would be discovered towards the end of the world, before the final coming of the Messiah.We can find an example of this expectation in the recently discovered Hebrew pseudepigraphical text Treatise of the Vessels (the dating of which is uncertain, see here for more info), which claims that a portion of the treasures of King Solomon's Temple, including the Ark of the Covenant, were hidden by a number of Levites and prophets before the sack of the Temple by the Babylonian forces of King Nebuchadnezzar. The Treatise of the Vessels states that the Ark was hidden away in an unspecified location, and would "not be revealed until the day of the coming of the Messiah son of David" (See Davila, J. Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures Vol 1, Eerdmans, 2013).
Most importantly for Catholics however, is the fact that the rediscovery of the Lost Ark towards the end time is prophesied in the deuterocanonical Second Book of Maccabees - which was infallibly defined by the Catholic Church as a divinely inspired work during the Council of Trent in the 16th century, and is thus considered to be part of Divine Revelation:

These same records also tell us that Jeremiah, acting under divine guidance, commanded the Tent of the Lord's Presence and the Covenant Box to follow him to the mountain where Moses had looked down on the land which God had promised our people.When Jeremiah got to the mountain, he found a huge cave and there he hid the Tent of the Lord's Presence, the Covenant Box, and the altar of incense. Then he sealed up the entrance.

Some of Jeremiah's friends tried to follow him and mark the way, but they could not find the cave.When Jeremiah learned what they had done, he reprimanded them, saying:

No one must know about this place until God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy.At that time he will reveal where these things are hidden, and the dazzling light of his presence will be seen in the cloud, as it was in the time of Moses and on the occasion when Solomon prayed that the Temple might be dedicated in holy splendor.

We are also told how the wise King Solomon offered a sacrifice of dedication at the completion of the Temple,and that when he prayed, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices, just as it had done earlier when Moses prayed.(2Macc 2:4-12)We should take note here that the Catholic Encyclopedia asserts that since the above text from 2 Maccabees is quoting from a source outside of the Bible, it cannot be regarded to have Divine inspiration:According to many commentators, the letter from which the above-cited lines are supposed to have been copied cannot be regarded as possessing Divine authority; for, as a rule, a citation remains in the Bible what it was outside of the inspired writing...(Souvay, C.(1907).Ark of the Covenant. In The Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company. See here for the original article).
However this is one of the few instances in which the material contained in an article in the Catholic Encyclopedia is simply outdated and mistaken (having been composed in the early 20th century), as this is quite clearly at odds with subsequent papal teachings on the extent of Divine inspiration in the content of Public Revelation. As Pope Pius XII states in his 1950 papal encyclical Humani Generis: "If, however, the ancient sacred writers have taken anything from popular narrations (and this may be conceded), it must never be forgotten that they did so with the help of divine inspiration, through which they were rendered immune from any error in selecting and evaluating those documents."Pius XII Humani Generis38)
As Pope Leo XIII further confirms in his 1893 papal encyclical Providentissimus Deus:"But it is absolutely wrong and forbidden, either to narrow inspiration to certain parts only of Holy Scripture, or to admit that the sacred writer has erred... For all the books which the Church receives as sacred and canonical, are written wholly and entirely, with all their parts, at the dictation of the Holy Ghost; and so far is it from being possible that any error can co-exist with inspiration, that inspiration not only is essentially incompatible with error, but excludes and rejects it as absolutely and necessarily as it is impossible that God Himself, the supreme Truth, can utter that which is not true. This is the ancient and unchanging faith of the Church, solemnly defined in the Councils of Florence and of Trent, and finally confirmed and more expressly formulated by the Council of the Vatican... It follows that those who maintain that an error is possible in any genuine passage of the sacred writings, either pervert the Catholic notion of inspiration, or make God the author of such error."(Pope Leo XIII Providentissimus Deus, 20-21)
In citing the above material concerning the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant, the author of 2 Maccabees clearly intended that his audience should accept this account as genuine, and was working under Divine inspiration in doing so. So according to Church teaching, Catholics are therefore compelled to accept not only that the Ark of the Covenant was hidden by the Prophet Jeremiah on the mountain where Moses saw the Promised Land, but also that it will one day be miraculously revealed towards the end of time by the descent of the Divine Presence in dazzling light, like the theophany at Sinai, after the eschatological ingathering of the Jews to the land of Israel. All other options, such as that the Ark was hidden beneath the Temple Mount, carried off to Axum in Ethiopia, was captured by the Babylonians, or destroyed, should therefore be discounted, since Scripture itself tells us its exact location.According to Deut 34 the mountain from where Moses looked down to see the Promised Land is Mount Nebo, located in modern day Jordan:

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day.

(Deut 34:1-6)

Mount Nebo in Jordan, which 2Macc tells us is the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant

The prophecy that God's chosen people would be granted mercy at the time of the revelation of the Lost Ark, after the eschatological ingathering mentioned in 2Macc 2:4-12, can only be equated with the end time conversion of the Jews - which the Catechism states must take place before the Second Coming of Christ: The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in their "unbelief" toward Jesus. St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old." St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah's salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles", will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", in which "God may be all in all".(CCC 674)It would thus appear that the eschatological discovery of the Ark of the Covenant prophesied in 2Macc 2:4-12 is the primary catalyst for the future conversion of the Jews - an event which the Apocalypse links to the appearance of the Great Sign seen in Heaven during the birth pangs of the coming of the Messiah:Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.(Rev 11:19, 12:1-2)Could the appearance of the Great Sign in Heaven be one and the same as 2 Maccabees' prophecy of God's presence descending upon Mount Nebo in dazzling light, at a time when great mercy would be shown to the Jews? It seems quite plausible that it would require an event on the magnitude of the discovery of the most revered religious object in Judaism to effect a mass Jewish conversion to the Catholic Church. But the revelation of the Ark would only truly be able to win Jewish converts if its discovery was specifically related to Catholicism itself, such as being involved with a major Marian apparition, the fulfillment of a Catholic prophecy, or that it led to some radical new understanding of Scripture proving the truth of the Catholic faith. Reading 2Macc 2:4-12 side-by-side as a theological diptych with the above section of the Apocalypse, we are certainly left with the distinct impression that the rediscovery of the Ark of the Covenant brought about by the appearance of the Divine presence in the Shekhinah Glory would be accompanied by the Great Sign in Heaven - which is described in the Apocalypse as a vision of the Woman Adorned with the Sun. By combining both texts, we appear to have a prophecy of a future Marian apparition in the vicinity of Mount Nebo that leads to the discovery of the Ark of the Covenant, which has been lost to history for the past 2,600 years. And it would also seem that this Marian apparition coincides with the appearance of the Divine Shekhinah Glory to reveal the Ark of the Covenant. Could it be that the Theotokos herself will appear with the manifestation of her Spouse the Holy Spirit in the Shekhinah Glory, and reveal not only the location of the Ark of the Covenant, but also leading to the the understanding that the Blessed Virgin is in fact its physical embodiment - thus securing the future conversion of the Jews promised in the writings of the New Testament?A detailed discussion of the role of the Ark of the Covenant in prophetic events can be found in chapter 10 of Desmond Birch's excellent work Trial, Tribulation & Triumph, which is widely considered to be the best book dealing with the subject of Catholic prophecy.

140 comments:

Anthony Cosentino
said...

I enjoyed your post, Emmett. I hadn't considered that recognizing Mary as the Ark of the Covenant would imply a Marian event tied to the Ark's rediscovery and subsequent unveiling to humanity. To me, it makes very good sense. The first Ark, bears the Law inscribed on stone tablets and is God's Presence among the Hebrew people; Mary, overshadowed by the shekinah of the Spirit, bears within her the One who fulfills the Law and Prophets, Emmanuel - God with us, in Whom the Law becomes inscribed in our hearts (Jer 31,33). Have you seen any of the Ron Wyatt videos regarding his claim to have discovered the ark beneath the mount of Golgotha? He claims that one day while walking by, he spontaneously turned to the side of the hill and exclaimed, "there's the site of Jeremiah's cave." His excavations revealed what he claimed to be the Ark within a sealed off cave. He claimed that the blood of the crucified Jesus had seeped down through cracks in the rock above it and been deposited on the top of the Ark. He also claims that subsequent testing of the blood revealed twenty-four chromosomes (23 from Mary, and 1 from the Holy Spirit). He maintained that the Ark would be revealed when the Antichrist rose and came to power as a sign to the world. It's not Mount Nebo, but if it is fact the location, I still see the strong possibility Mary's role in its revelation and subsequent conversions to Christ among the Jewish (and Muslim) people, perhaps on a scale even greater than the conversions of millions of Aztecs by Our Lady, clothed with the sun at Tenochtitlan.Thanks for the article.Anthony Cosentino

Another great read Emmett! It seems more and more you are uncovering the real biblical prophesy of a true New Pentecost and its relation to an Illumination of some sort that will bring about the Conversion of Israel and the triumph of the Church. It seems to be so very close! I read this the other day from Our Lady of Good Success. Very striking!et the message of Our Lady of Good Success ends with a note of great hope: When everything will seem lost and paralyzed, that will be "the happy beginning of the complete restoration. This will mark the arrival of my hour, when I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my feet and fettering him in the infernal abyss." It is the promise echoed by Our Lady again at Fatima in 1917: "In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph."

Just a reminder: An eagle in Aztec belief "delivered the hearts and the blood of sacrificial victims to the Gods. The angel wings holds up the pregnant Virgin, signifying that the child in her womb is the offering that pleases God." Joining the physical Arc of the Covenant with the Virgin Mary as Emmett has so brilliantly alluded to may very well convince all those who do not accept her role in the redemption, and convince them to consider her manifestations.

If I'm reading my map right, it's very possible that Mt. Nebo will become part of Israeli territory following the War of Psalm 83. If this is the case, then it's very possible that archaeological expeditions can be undertaken there (which the Jordanian government currently forbids, given its proximity to the Jordanian/Israeli border.) Even if there is no archeology performed on Mt. Nebo, Israel's possession of the site after the war would make it possible for the Kohen to go to the Mount after the location is revealed.

I should also like to point out that **IF** the Apparitions at Garabandal are approved, one of the signs of its validity would be a "Sign" would appear at the site, one that can be photographed and televised, but not touched. It's possible that this Sign would be the appearance of the Shekinah glory at the site. Since the region of Garabandal has a large number of people of Jewish heritage, and reportedly the Blessed Mother (if the apparition is authentic) appeared to the girls as someone of Jewish descent, the appearance of the Shekinah at the site would be the sign the Jewish People (especially the rabbinical scholars) would need to bring about the conversion of the Jewish Nation.

If the Shekinah were to appear only at Mt. Neko, then the discovery of the Ark would have no connection to Christianity and so no bearing on any Jewish coming to faith in Jesus.

Before i forget, there is a book by David Flynn called "Temple at the Center of Time: Newton's Bible Codex deciphered and the year 2012." Newton was not only a mathematical genius he was also the royal geometer: he developed the standards of measuring distances, which was essential if he was to calculate the mass of the earth and the moon and so develop his Theory of Gravity and his Laws of Motion. Newton applied his knowledge of distances and mathematics to discover relationships between locations in Scripture and scriptural prophecy.

I should note that the other books written by Mr. Flynn mark him, in my mind, as a wingnut. However, I think in this case he's hit upon something. I strongly recommend reading this book as there's too much for me to summarize here. Just take my word that if a measuring line is stretched due east of the foundation stone of the Temple, with a length of 25.20 nautical miles (a nautical mile is based on an arc degree of the earth's circumference, and 25.20 is related to the Sacred Cubit), you have a line that touches the north slope of Mt. Neko less than a mile from the summit. Temple Mount is 2,520 feet above sea level, and the measuring line touches a point on Mt. Neko 1,260 feet (half of 2520) above sea level; and the Greek letters for the name Solomon add up to 1,260.

Gee, Jim you don't have to go that far yet. Lourdes, Fatima, and Garabandal - are one. "A trilogy drawn in an arc across Europe linked by a shared and increasingly amplified theme. " The Workers of Our Lady of Mt Carmel

I find it interesting that the conversion of Jews happens in connection with the revelation of the location of the Ark. Considering the fact that the throne on the Ark is known as the Mercy Seat, and according to ancient Jewish belief, the Spirit of God rested there and bestowed mercy on His people who asked for it, well, this prophesied conversion will be the greatest gift of mercy ever offered to the Chosen People. Mercy Seat, indeed.

Thank you Emmett for a job well done...I hope in the future some one will do a modern day story on the Franciscan Monastery on Mt Nebo. I find it particularly interesting that Saint John Paul II visited Mt Nebo in 2000. Of all the religions it will be the Catholic Church that has been gifted with the care giving of Gods Ark of the Covenant. Thank you God our Father for this great blessing and awesome responsibility. James of Nashville

Before the end of the world : 1). A great apostasy will occur. 2). Elijah will come and restore everything. 3). A transformation of the universe and world will be purified by fire. 4). And then the Jews will convert. Does this not sound a bit like Garabandal? "...fire from the sky..."

Hi Emmett,You may recall your article about the sign appearing in the heavens and referenced Venus, Jupiter and the constellation representing a crown of stars. Do you realise that there will be a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter tomorrow evening, 30th June? I have found other articles that suggest the Star of David that the magi followed was a similar conjunction. Any thoughts?Michael

"Fire from the sky" is not only from Garabandal. It was mentioned by Our Lady at Akita, an apparition which IS approved by the Church. Garabandal has not been approved by the Church, but neither has it been condemned. The problem with Garabandal is that there is prophecy involved. The earliest one is that there is supposed to be a great miracle. The seer knows the date, but she is not allowed to reveal it until eight days beforehand. After the miracle comes a "warning;" supposedly we will all see our sins as God sees them. And if we still do not convert, then fire will fall from the sky. The biggest reason no ruling has come, either pro or con, on Garabandal is that no ruling can be made until and unless the first prophecy comes to pass. So we take that one with a grain of salt for now.

Akita does not mention the miracle or the warning, but does say that fire will fall from the sky; since Akita is an approved apparition, I would say we can take that part of it as true. But as I understand it, that's one of those things that will probably happen after the New Pentecost; after the period of peace we have been promised has passed and sin begins to spread in a big way again. That is when all the things that presage the rise of Antichrist will begin to occur. The younger Boomers may still be around to see the beginning of the New Pentecost; I doubt any of us will survive long enough to see the rise of Antichrist - and seriously, who would WANT to?

Emmett;Very well written and thought provoking. As a reader I can't hope for more!!May I ask a question? Have you developed an educated guess as to the possibility of Benedict or Francis being the " bishop in white" spoken of in Fatima's secret? With the 100 year anniversary nearing, several prophecy's about rome being attacked as well as italy; with the political lies and support of isis by the present administration it seems at any moment everything could get out of hand. And another celestial " hint" at a special time reference ( http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/venus-and-jupiter-a-dazzling-duo-062520154/ )However it also means that several other unintended consequences will have happened which will probably effect america. I am sorry for the poor writing ability.Hopefully a question survived my rambling.chris

I've often thought that he is like our Lord who went out the the garden of Gethsemane to pray (which is what Benedict's self proclaimed task is now) for the Church as almost an imitation of our Lord as he began his passion. I watched the video that was linked by chris and often wondered if Benedict is that bishop in white that Sr. Lucia refers to in her vision. I've never heard anyone talk about it...but I did mention it once in a post on this blog some time ago and asked Emmett about it. I don't think Emmett agreed, but we all have our ideas I guess.So, I did find chris' link interesting on that account as I thought at least someone else has had that idea too.

One other thing. Anne Catherine speaks of a vision of a pope during her prophesied persecution of Rome and the words she uses are very interesting in light of our discussion here. She says :

August 10, 1820: "I see the Holy Father in great anguish. He lives in a PALACE OTHER THAN BEFORE and he admits only a limited number of friends near him. I fear that the Holy Father will suffer many more trials before he dies. I see that the false Church of Darkness is making progress, and I see the dreadful influence that it has on people. The Holy Father and the Church are verily in so great a distress that one must implore God day and night."

Of course, this could also refer to Pope Francis as he lives in Casa Santa Marta and never lived in the normal residence of the previous popes. But, as he's never lived in the papal residence one couldn't say he was living in a place other than before. But, one can make an interpretation that the phrase could refer to other than all those who lived there before him I suppose. That's what makes this all so fascinating too--as every prophecy is shrouded in mystery.

So, could this be Pope Benedict who is living in a "palace other than before"? To me it seems to fit, but we will find out in the near future. So much to think an pray about.rose

Sorry for the late reply to your comments. I've been really busy lately... I'll try to get round to answering some of them. Chris - I think it is certainly a possibility that Francis could be the pope of Fatima, especially given the threat that ISIS currently poses to the papacy. We can only know for sure in retrospect though... Also, given that I believe that the pope of Fatima is the same as the Angelic Pope of private prophecy, he would have to heal the East/West schism first. I don't really know if this is a possibility during this papacy. Something major would have to happen to prompt it.Michael - I don't really know what to make of this conjunction. It all seems to be part of a wider series of signs, such as the tetrads and the upcoming planetary alignment that has been associated with Rev 12 and the year 2017.

I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to take this just a wee bit off topic (well, a lot, rally). The work of Jonathan Cahn on the schemitah/jubilee year was mentioned in a couple of other combox threads. I’ve been fiddling with it for a couple of weeks now, and have a pretty hefty spreadsheet worked-up on the subject.

Cahn says that 2014-2015 is a schemitah year, and that we’re due for a “great shaking” in this country. I’ve been trying to validate his arithmetic. I think I finally figured out the timing.

We’re currently in the year 5775 in the Jewish calendar. That equates to 2014-2015 in the Gregorian calendar. Maimonides pinpointed a shemitah year in 5012. A council of rabbis pinpointed another shemitah year in 5313. If we compare that to the Gregorian calendar, it’s close, but not quite. I ran into an off-by-one-bug that had to be corrected. I was looking at 2015 as the shemitah year, but it’s not that simple.

If you take back one year for the Jewish New Year in September, it actually matches quite well. That makes September 2014 to September 2015 a Shemitah year, and September 2015 to September 2016 a Jubilee year.

If you take just 2015 and subtract 50 year increments, it doesn’t add up at all. By the time you get back to 1251, the dates are off by quite a bit. But if you take the 49 year schemitah and add a year to each of those, it matches perfectly. It sounds odd, I know, because it still looks like your subtracting 50 years at a time. But it works in Excel, and it works perfectly.

So I think it is valid to say that the schemitah year of 5775 ends on September 13th of this year. On September 14th the Jubilee begins. Interesting, I think, that the schemitah of 5775 ends on the 13th – so many things seem to happen on the 13th day of the month.

The last two jubilee years, then, would include:1967 (June 7th, 1967, Israel liberates Jerusalem)1917 (Our Lady in Fatima)

I don’t see a lot of historically significant dates beyond that, but it is an interesting correlation to the 100 years mentioned by Pope Leo XIII and the Fatima messages, that the two jubilees found during those 100 years include pretty significant events.

Sorry to hijack things, Emmett, and if you want to delete this as being too off topic, feel free.

I find this stuff fascinating Mark! Why would I want to delete it? I haven't put my homework into this one just as much, so it's good to hear a different perspective. The exact dating of the Jubilee year is a tough one, but seems to be of some significance...

> he would have to heal the East/West schism first. I don't really know if this is a possibility during this papacy

I wonder if you can expand on that. From my perspective, just reading the things which are happening of late - the Pope agreeing to a fixed date for Easter, and really wanting to heal the schism during his papacy, the plan to meet the Patriarch, perhaps as soon as this year, about it..these things are happening quickly. It seems to my eye to be a very realistic possibility.

I really do hope he is able to Mark L. And he does seem to be making a great effort. It's just that given his already advanced age there is only a relatively short time for him to accomplish such a huge task.

He will do it. I believe this is the Pope who is to guide us through the next era. Not since 1054 has there been a unity from the Orthodox Church to sit down with a Roman Pope. Believe me to get Kirill on board was not easy. This is most definitely the Holy Spirit at work.

"That we may be altogether of the same mind and in conformity with the Church herself, if she shall have defined anything to be black which to our eyes appears to be white, we ought in like manner to pronounce it to be black." St Ignatius Loyola. A Jesuit Pope understands this well, and has the right training to draw the Orthodox Patriarchs into a lasting friendship. After all the Jesuits are considered friends in the Lord.

I just stumbled upon an interesting two-part essay entitled - "Are We Living in the Last Days?" by a fellow named Shane Schaetzel.

I found it interesting because it makes two points: we are not yet in the Great Apostasy but rather a minor one, a 'dress rehearsal.' But even more interesting are his arguments that the Antichrist will most certainly be Jewish. I appreciated his quotes from some early Church Fathers and saints, which I had not read, which argue the same.

Mark L, I don't know why Catholics keep talking about a mini-apostasy and a 1,000 year "Eucharistic reign." There's nothing in the Sacred Scriptures or Sacred Tradition about it. And it also implicitly contradicts both the Scriptures and the catechism. Likewise, Lucia at Fatima said that this is the "final confrontation" between Satan and God. Those are her words-- "final confrontation."

Speaking of which, Emmett, have you ever heard this before? I just discovered this, but apparently Cardinal Carlo Caffara was told by Sr Lucia that the "final battle" between Satan and God will be over family and marriage.

I may be thinking wrongly, but wouldn't the Antichrist have to be Jewish, I mean, just in the sense that the Nation of Israel would never accept a non-Jew as the Messiah, even though he will be a counterfeit? I hope that this doesn't sound anti-Semitic, it isn't meant to be, and isn't it said somewhere in the Old Testament that the Son of Perdition will be from the Tribe of Dan? Maybe I'm remembering things wrong, I'm not much of a scriptural scholar.

I'm not sure why you mention the 1,000 year Eucharistic reign to me, from my reading of the post I mentioned he doesn't say anything about it. Maybe it was in his first article, which I didn't read closely.

Regarding the mini-apostasy, of course Emmett is the expert and I haven't searched his posts regarding it. A quick search brought this up on the EWTN web site, with apologies to everyone who obviously has just as much access to Google as I do! Nevertheless-

"As Cardinal Ratzinger recently pointed out (in the context of the message of Fátima), we are not at the end of the world. In fact, the Second Coming (understood as the physical return of Christ) cannot occur until the full number of the Gentiles are converted, followed by "all Israel."

Approved Catholic mystics (Venerables, Blessed and Saints, approved apparitions) throw considerable light on this order, by prophesying a minor apostasy and tribulation toward the end of the world, after which will occur the reunion of Christians. Only later will the entire world fall away from Christ (the great apostasy) and the personal Antichrist arise and the Tribulation of the End occur.

Although this is not Catholic doctrine, arising as it does from private revelation, it conforms to what is occurring in our time, especially in light of Our Lady of Fátima's promise of an "Era of Peace." This "Triumph of the Immaculate Heart" (other saints have spoken of a social reign of Jesus Christ when Jesus will reign in the hearts of men) would seem to occur prior to the rise of the Antichrist. The optimism of the Pope for the "New Evangelization" and a "Civilization of Love" in the Third Millenium of Christianity fits here, as well. This would place us, therefore, in the period just before the events spoken of in the Catechism, that is, on the verge of the evangelization of the entire world.Other interpretations are possible, but none seem to fit the facts as well, especially when approved mystics are studied, instead of merely alleged ones."

(from http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage.asp?number=360178)

I have to say, personally, I have to guard my heart well. It is so easy to be caught up in things, especially when spending too much time on the computer. I, fortunately or unfortunately, stumbled upon the motheofgod.com forums, in particular the "Signs of the Times" forum, where a good number of very devout souls are making plenty of posts which cause one to get swept up into a kind of fervor which would make things seem to be on the very edge of being revealed.

I sent a post to Emmett some time back from the EWTN website which spelled out a more plausible scenario of things taking quite some number of years yet to unwind, perhaps decades, whose time table he agreed with. I think Emmett, also, seems to agree with a longer time table.

For my own self, I have to confess, my spirit desires a faster return of the Holy Spirit! My "anxiety," to state it thus, is that we will have the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy and it will come and go, and souls who need it will not take advantage of it. I feel like there needs to be an event in order to shake up souls and so take advantage of this amazing time of grace. If nothing happens prior to it, I fear it will come and go and nobody will be the wiser (except those of us already clinging to the sacraments and bi-weekly confession, prayer, fasting and so on).

I want all my family, friends, coworkers, neighbors - indeed, the whole world - to know of this Year of Mercy and enter in to the doors of the Church. What if it comes and goes, largely unnoticed? What if, indeed, this is the "Door of Mercy" which Jesus of the Divine Mercy Revelation spoke of? We suffer and pray that everyone notice it and enter into it!

Mark L. The idea of two separate periods of apostasy before and at the time of Antichrist is a long held belief, and does not necessarily contradict with anything I have been writing about. Some people would try to make a distinction between the two, with one being a general apostasy before the restoration of the Church, and the other the Great Apostasy at the time of the Antichrist. To me, it is all one period of apostasy with a brief lull in between, which is intended to spare the elect. This is pretty much the same thing if we leave out the semantics. The first falling away gives birth to the Antichrist. Then we have the restraining force which holds back the appearance of the Antichrist (traditionally held to be the Great Monarch), a short time of peace, and then the Evil One will take power.It's good to hear from you again KP!

Mark L.; I don't see much of a problem with seeing the two periods as one longer period, occuring over a century or two (say, from 1917 until, say, 2100), as Emmett is suggesting here. Your post above seemed to indicate you were proposing the "mini-apostasy" I've heard other Catholics give me. The idea being that we're now in a "mini-apostasy," but will be followed by a long extended period of time where the entire world will be Catholic-- except for the Jews, since they can't convert until the very end. Then, after this long "1000 year" "Eucharistic reign," the entire world will fall into a worldwide apostasy about the time the Jews accept Christ.

I've been told that I'm hard hearted for thinking we're in the great apostasy now, and that the entire world is going to convert and become Catholic. This is somehow more "merciful." I don't see how it's more merciful for the people living in the "real" apostasy 1,000 years from now. Look how silent the church leaders are and how many souls are complety ignoring God and living in mortal sin. If this is just the "mini-apostasy," then I'd say God would be extremely cruel to the people living in this time period without intervening. Likewise, the Jews living during the "1,000 year" "Eucharistic reign" couldn't possibly be invincibly ignorant. The entire world converting to the Catholic Church and a world full of Saints for 1,000 years wouldn't leave much room for invincible ignorance. If the Jews of this time period could be invincibly ignorant, then practically everyone in world history must be.

Then there are scriptural reasons that this seems way off to me. Scripture and Tradition only mention one great apostasy. Likewise, it doesn't mention any long extended golden age before the end. Instead, we're told that Satan is the ruler of this world, until Christ throws him into Hell and crushes him at the Second Coming. Likewise, the catechism states that the Church will not be victorious by spreading throughout the entire world and ascending into greatness; but instead will be victorious by following Christ's passion and being nearly destroyed. It also mentions the deception of the end times anti-Christ system as being a "secular messianism."

So I don't see a problem with Emmett extending things out somewhat, but the idea of two separate apostasies, with the entire world becoming Catholic in the middle, seems to contradict Scripture and the catechism.

I'm not sure which you were proposing.

It seems to me we're very very close to the end, particularly if Cardinal Caffara is right in saying that Sr Lucia told him the final battle between Jesus and Satan will be over marriage and the family.

Just to rewind the tape a touch, I wasn't proposing anything. I merely forwarded a blog post which I found interesting. The reason I found it interesting was not in regard to the author's conjecture of a mini/major apostasy split but rather the strong argument for a Jewish Antichrist, and the primary reason I found it interesting was because of the quotes of the early Fathers, which I had not seen before.

So that's all - no proposal from me, merely a forward of a blog post I found interesting.

Personally, in my own heart, I hope we are near to significant events. Not because of any sort of cowardice on my part, or weariness of living in a difficult age (I hope, even though I am weary, and bleed inside), but rather, again, because I believe from my little corner of the world, that we need a big shake up so that people will enter into the vast "field hospital" that the Pope says the Church is.

From where I live, I don't see anyone running to this hospital of the church, nor do they believe in it, nor do they give it a moment's thought. If anything, we are the ones who are in increasing need of this hospital, taking the wounds as we do out in the battle.

So I would (I think) love to be living through years of great eschatological significance. It is awe-inspiring and humbling to the extreme to think that I might have been chosen to be a soul living in this great era, to bring some light of Christ to bear. We all - all of us reading this - have been chosen to live in these years. Therefore each of us have been equipped for this time.

Some say, "how much longer can this go on?" But look how many decades Roe v Wade has been about, causing untold damage.

This fall synod may be interesting.

I certainly believe we are living through what is likely to be the final death throes of the complete collapse of Western Civilization. Only Divine Intervention can save us now. How could we ever come back from the extremes of where we have fallen without it.

Mark L - I don't think you'll have to wait long. The Church and the eternal world don't live in a vacuum. The global economic situation alone will cause a major shakeup before long. I've been studying the economic situation since 2010, and I think this particular train is just about out of track. Then, turn the electricity off in the U.S. for a few weeks - or in Europe - or in China.

Honestly, in my view, I think the economic situation could be the entry into the whole thing that Emmett has been writing about and we've all been discussing. I know Emmett sees an explosion from Cumbre Vieja and the tsunami that follows as a way of removing the U.S. from the global stage, but I really think the economic tsunami has a far greater potential for damage here. Just my opinion, and I am far from an expert.

Personally I do believe in Garabandal. Her messages in the 60's were spot on. We are literally watching them unfold right before our eyes. And as far as Conchita in the 1960's who was a young child from a small remote village coming up with such accurate future prophecies is uncanny. How can one not believe in the apparition? Her description of two sun's (stars) crashing would have had most scientists laughing. But today even NASA has discussed a brown dwarf or a Planet X orbiting around the sun today. Such a phenomenon is most definitely possible. Two Suns have been seen all over the world. And most believe this is why our climate is changing so drastically.

Marianne, every believable falsehood has a grain of truth to it. That's what worries me about it more than anything else.

There are a lot of things I don't like about Garabandal, but I'm not willing to say that it's absolutely false. I just don't know and am unwilling to give it any further benefit of the doubt.

I asked some very specific questions of Glenn Hudson (and others) at motheofgod and didn't get convincing answers. I can get into deeper details if you'd like, but when I challenged the ideas Glenn and others raised, I was the one that was vilified for daring to question. Some even implied that my salvation was dependent upon my belief in Garabandal. I came away feeling that there was far more darkness than light to it, and I didn't need the distraction.

Nothing personal, Marianne, honestly. You can accept Garabandal if you'd like, but I have no obligation and there are plenty of other prophecies out there to occupy my time.

There has been a relatively new survey of brown dwarf stars. There are 33 brown dwarf stars within 26 light years of the sun, and the nearest is 6 light years away. There are a lot fewer brown dwarfs than previously thought. They've gotten good enough with the research now that, if Nemesis really did exist, it would almost certainly have been found by now.

Which is not to say that God couldn't put one in our cosmic neighborhood pretty easily if he wanted to.

Mark W - I agree with you completely on the economy. I also agree with what you just wrote on Garabandal. The video of the ecstatic rapid backward marches looks...disturbing to me. I also agree on the brown dwarf remark, which I have posted about myself in the past.

I have been very moved by the Marian Movement of Priests (MMP). I followed that from pretty early on, and have the book and read all the messages. If that is deception then a great many holy priests and bishops have been deceived. For those who have a problem with it, it is generally because of the 2k timeframe talked about in some of the messages. But Emmett does a good job of talking about that (as do many others) as the beginning of the period, etc.

Anyway, in one of the MMP messages Mary (supposedly) mentions Medjugorje (Message 357). In many of them she mentions Fatima. And in one of the Medjugorje messages Mary (supposedly) mentions Fatima (8/25/91).

In none of either the Medjugorje messages or the MMP messages is Garabandal ever mentioned. Then again, supposedly Padre Pio believed in it.

One of the Medjugore visionaries has JPII's shoes, which he arranged to have sent to her upon his death. He was pretty intensely interested in it, having met some of them.

It's interesting isn't it. Unless all of these things are discarded wholesale - MMP, Medjugorje, Garabandal and who knows what else, as well as the saints who believed in them (Padre Pio, John Paul II, Mother Theresa...) - there is only one possible conclusion: we are absolutely living on the edge of astonishing heavenly events!

It's really mind boggling, and sometimes hard for me to stay focused on doing my daily duty. And now today - the Greece disaster. Every day is something new.

p.s. In re-reading my post, I have to add that, if memory serves me correctly, I'm pretty certain that in one of the MMP posts Mary (supposedly) says, "as I have said in my many apparitions throughout the world..."

So that would obviously cover Garabandal if it is authentic.

And in saying that, I'm covering my own self, too, just in case it is authentic. I certainly do not want to be in a position where I'm nay-saying a genuine apparition. I love Mary too much for that!

Marianne, Mark L, Mark W, Emmett, everyone Lively discussion! I believe the key to knowing that we are at the cusp of massive events and a complete reset -- are the apparitions of Fatima, Akita and Medjugorje. We all accept that our Lady came at Fatima. We know that regardless of whether people believe that everything was completed when they revealed the vision of the 3rd part of the secret or not (in 2000) -- it has not been FULLY completed (the triumph of her heart). Benedict XV's own words a few years ago(I believe in 2010) lead us to believe that he thinks also that we are coming to the fulfillment of our lady's apparitions and the full triumph of her Immaculate heart - he mentions the 100th anniversary - 2017 (which obviously has not occurred yet -- the events of the last few months show us this -- gay marriage being legalized in both Ireland and USA and the Caitlynn Jenner transgender marathon of craziness! - and of course the looming economic collapse and its fallout in the next year or two). We also have our Lady's words in Akita which speak of mankind either repenting or having a chastisement worse then the Flood come upon humanity. Our Lady in Medjugorje said in the early 90's that her coming to Medjugorje is the fulfillment of her apparitions of Fatima. As well -- in Medjugorje our Lady speaks of 10 "secrets" which will have a worlwide impact on humanity -- and that a priest must speak of the secret 3 days before some of them -- if this is made up by the visionaries then that's obviously a tall order for them to pull off - unless of course, the apparitions are true -- time will tell. It is blatantly obvious - almost laughably so - how quickly things have deteriorated in society -- how everything is now acceptable except what is actually good and right. Interestingly enough in a message from our Lady in Medjugorje last month she said, " It is time for the truth ". In Medjugorje she has also told the visionaries that these are her last apparitions on earth -- when asked by the priests what she meant by this -- she reportedly told them - "because I will not have to come again" -- which connects with a long reign of her Immaculate heart (which she told us is coming - in Fatima - and the era of peace) and her Son's Eucharistic heart (after the major events/10 secrets are completed) -- (the reign of the 2 hearts obviously foretold in the vision of St Catherine -with the 2 hearts next to each other). As well, in the last few months -- we have 2 major reveals from Sr Lucia's words and memoirs -- 1) where she sees a massive earthquake and tsunami -- wiping out many (probably billions) but then one holy catholic apostolic church reigning (again we recall our Lady's words of Akita -- in which the chastisment will be worse then the flood) -- and we know from Medjugorje that the last 3 secrets are horrific chastisements for sin -- but that afterword she "will not have to come again" -- because humanity will be living in union with God as it should -- and our Mother will not need to return to lead us back to Him.the 2) point is Lucia telling a Cardinal that the final attack from Satan will be upon marriage and the family. Coincidence? that we are about to have the Synod of the Marriage and Family in October?? And at the same time, 3 months before the Synod -- we have USA and Ireland legalizing gay marriage. Obviously the official beginning, of sorts, of Satan's last gasp before the secrets begin and God intervenes to awaken humanity.(and the end of the "100 years that he has been given -- which Pope Leo forsaw in the late 1800's and was also spoken of the Mirjana in Medjugorje - when our Lady told her that Satan has been given one Century) - and Lucia's own words that she feels that Satan and Mary are in the final battle -- in which, at the end, one side is victorious and one side is defeated.Michael Patrick

Connected with my post above --As well, we begin the Year of Mercy at the end of this year -- into the end of 2016 -- in which time, the "door of mercy will be open" as the papal bull states! Unbelievably enough, as many of you have stated -- it is the exact words our Lord used to St Faustina in her diary "if men do not pass through the door of my Mercy, then they will pass through the door of Justice". And then right after the Year of Mercy ends -- 2017 begins! -- the 100th year anniversary of our Lady's apparitions in Fatima! And we know our Lady does not come in time, during certain days and years, for no reason. Again, even Benedict XV alludes to something within the 100th year - and we know now that Pope Francis plans on going to Fatima for the 100th anniversary of the apparitions there. It is blatantly obvious that the time that our Lady has been warning us about and coming for - calling us to return to her Son -- has now arrived! All of these things, falling one after the other, cannot be coincidence. For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear! as Scripture tells us! Prayer, Penance, Peace, Conversion, Fasting, Adoration!! My brothers and sisters -- let us be united together in these things! Michael Patrick

"In none of either the Medjugorje messages or the MMP messages is Garabandal ever mentioned. Then again, supposedly Padre Pio believed in it."

This is actually one of the main points of contention. Did Padre Pio ever say anything about Garabandal? We have two elements that say he did. First is the letter to Conchita. Second is the comment to Joey Lomangino.

I asked specifically about the Padre Pio letter. Conchita supposedly said that she didn't know where it was, and that maybe her mother still had it in Spain. Would anyone reading these words, having received a letter from Padre Pio, misplace it and not know how to find the info? Maybe it was lost, but if it were me I'd certainly have made every effort to find it. A copy of a letter was eventually supplied by someone with absolutely no provenance provided. But that letter did NOT match Padre Pio's extant handwriting examples. (I'm no expert in handwriting analysis, but I have had a bit of training in the subject when I was briefly in grad school.) I also contacted the archives in Italy that have all the extant writings of Padre Pio that have been collected, and they had no evidence that Padre Pio had ever written about Garabandal.

Joey's prophecy of regaining his vision failed, so there's no reason to think that his statements on Padre Pio were any more accurate. He may well have been told by Padre Pio to go to Garabandal, I don't know, but there's nothing more to go on than his word.

Padre Pio's contact with the seers of Garabandal is held up as evidence of Garabandal's legitimacy. But both points of contact between Padre Pio and Garabandal are at the least questionable on two counts: Do they exist at all, and if so, what is their provenance. What little evidence I've seen has zero provenance and nothing else seems to actually exist.

All this, and I actually hope that Garabandal will turn out to be true. I just don't think it will.

"In re-reading my post, I have to add that, if memory serves me correctly, I'm pretty certain that in one of the MMP posts Mary (supposedly) says, 'as I have said in my many apparitions throughout the world...'"

This kind of thing always gives me pause. There have been any number of opportunities - especially at Akita - for Our Lady to say that Garabandal was false. Yet she never does so. That's one of the reasons that I say I don't think Garabandal is legit, but I don't know for certain.

You speak of a 1000 year Eucharistic reign. Hasn't the Church condemned Millennialism, the belief in a literal 1000 years?

My understanding of the 1000 years (gained from study) is that the millennium began the day Christ died and bound Satan so that the gospel message could be spread throughout the entire world. It consists of the whole NT era and will end with the second coming of Christ. As to the saints reigning with Christ, this means that Jesus is reigning with His saints in heaven and on earth through His Church.

Gentlemen, Padre Pio gave Conchita his bloody glove and Conchita has donated it to her parish Church of Long Island, New York. It is visible to the public. He truly believed in Garabandal. And the devil could never ever fool Padre Pio! He also left her the veil that covered his face at his deathbed. You can see all the evidence and learn more about Garabandal through Facebook. Glenn Hudson, who also lives in Long Island and is close to Conchita is in charge of the "Message of Garabandal" site. And yes, although a lovely man, he is your typical New Yorker and can be a bit impatient. I don't agree with all his personal interpretations of the messages, but at least he is out there educating us on this.

I found this write-up on SpiritDaily informative, written on 6/14. It suggests that Pio initially approved but then later said that Satan infiltrated Garabandal:

http://www.spiritdaily.net/enright2.htm

I don't agree that Saint Pio could not be fooled. He is only human. If you read the massive volume of letters he exchanged with his spiritual director (hard to obtain), this comes through very well. Furthermore, remember the great Cure of Ars and La Salette. There are many such examples. Even the greatest saints have been mistaken. I think too much weight is put on whether a saint has approved something, as though their veracity is greater than the Church itself, or the Gospels.

Regardless, I am comforted in knowing that, in a sense, we don't even "need" the sketchy events at Garabandal given the massive preponderance of other events, as spelled out so succinctly by Michael above, with the additions by Mark W.

Have you gained possession of the MMP book, "Our Lady speaks to her priests?" It is *vast*. If the Marian Movement of Priests is true, its depth and scope far, far exceeds anything else out there, including Medjugorje. The MMP messages are by a long shot much more profound than any other Marian apparition in history. Just the single message describing "666" alone is amazing. Of course it is principally for priests.

This is why I am completely unconcerned about trying to figure out Garabandal or even Medjugorje (where I have been twice and which has inspired me to fast). Even if the church were to disapprove of Medjugorje, I wouldn't blink an eye, because everything else going on with Marian apparitions and the overall state of the world is, to my eyes, so extraordinarily obvious as to be, as Michael stated, "so blatantly obvious - almost laughably so."

"Then we have the restraining force which holds back the appearance of the Antichrist (traditionally held to be the Great Monarch)".......................................................................................Emmett - how would you argue against the proposition that this 'Great Monarch' & antichrist are one and the same person? Consider also the prophecies regarding the antichrist.

Hi Mark, I read the article from spirit daily and found the article's allegations against Garabandal sketchy. I mean an Irishman say's the devil entered Garabandal, but then agrees with the messages on the illumination of conscience???? It was the strangest article with no real proof of credibility. It is sad how the media and many people misinterpret the actions and signs of God and Our Blessed Mother. And as for Father Gobbi, no doubt in my mind that he was totally right too.

Marianne - be careful what you way about Irishmen. I mean, you know... Where's Emmett from again?

Lack of proof and credibility is what we see in Garabandalist claims, so I suppose in some way we're even. And there are parts of Garabandal that coincide with other apparitions and warnings too. That's kind of what I meant above that some grain of truth exists in each of the false apparitions to make them more believable. Even an angel of darkness can quote Scripture to suit it's purposes, so there's no reason to think that every apparition is equally genuine. I don't accept Garabandal but I sincerely hope that the illumination of conscience is true.

Agree to disagree? As MarkL said above, if Garabandal turns out to be true, fine. But I'm not going to worry too much about it either way. In all sincerity, Marianna, I don't want you to come here and be made to feel like I did at the end with motheofgod - ganged up on and thoroughly unwelcome. It wasn't much fun, and I would not want to be party to making someone else feel like that. By and large, I like the place that Emmett has built here, and I don't want to turn it sour. I'll even pick on the trolls that pick on you, from time to time, to prevent that from happening. Heck, I threatened to spit roast one of them a few threads back. < Homer Simpson voice > "Hmmmm...spit roasted troll..." < / Homer Simpson Voice>

Well Mark tell it to my dad who has Scottish blood. I happen to love Irishmen, so don't worry about me. Of course it's quite all right with me to agree to disagree on the Garabandal apparition. But I will defend it.

Hey, watch it with that "Irishman" stuff, I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at by specifically identifying someone as Irish, but it seems to have a negative connotation that is not really appreciate. The Irish had kept the Faith through the worst and longest suppression of the Catholicism since the Diocletianic Persecution so I really don't understand how a fellow Catholic would think of being Irish as some sort of bad thing. I'm sorry if I am misreading that comment, but it is really difficult to read it any other way.

Michael Patrick, I think you are very correct about 2017 being a big year, but I believe in much more even than you occurring immediately after the 100th year anniversary. My ideas might sound crazy, but hear me out before judging them to be so.

"Unbelievably enough, as many of you have stated -- it is the exact words our Lord used to St Faustina in her diary "if men do not pass through the door of my Mercy, then they will pass through the door of Justice". And then right after the Year of Mercy ends -- 2017 begins! -- the 100th year anniversary of our Lady's apparitions in Fatima!"

I don't think it's any coincidence at all that the vision that Leo XIII, known during his reign as the 'Rosary Pope' because of his completely unprecedented promulgation of the rosary which strongly links his papacy with Our Lady, had of the 100 years where Satan will be loosed on the world occurred on October 13, 1884, the *exact* same date of the year as the last appearance of Our Lady at Fatima, exactly 33 years to the day prior to the miracle of the sun. I firmly believe that that 100 years began on October 13, 1917 immediately after the end of the final Fatima apparition, and will end on October 13, 2017, with hopefully no minor chastisement occurring between July 8, 2015, today, and October 13, 2017. I believe the great Marian era of peace will start on that date, with all the anticipation of the Angelic Shepherd and the Great Monarch still being fulfilled, but with no invasion of Europe by Russia, that is the CCCP, and Prussia, that is the former East Germany, in league with the Islamic nations of the Middle East.

I believe ISIL and other manifestations of Islamists are merely Satan in his death throes, knowing his time is drawing to an end. I believe Islam is not a religion, but should be rightly viewed as the greatest and most persistent of Catholic heresies, with Mohammed stripping Catholicism of the belief in the Incarnation, the Sacraments, and the Clergy, but stealing the rest of his "religion" straight from the Church, and that the mass conversions of both the Islamic nations as well as Communist China will occur after the healing of the Great Schism between East and West, and that these events will happen in astonishingly rapid succession once the 100 years of Satan's increased power in the world will end in a little over two years.

I think this scourge of Satan's 100 years where God gave him freer reign over the Earth was represented by Communism, Nazism/Fascism, and now the apostasy primarily in Western European countries of the EU, and Islamism, Satan using many polar opposites on the political spectrum against each other as a way to achieve his primary goal, to have us kill each other by the many tens of millions, and condemn probably *most* of those doing the killing so unfortunately to Hell.

Despite Pope St. John Paul II believing that he was the Pope of the 3rd secret of Fatima, I also think that the Pope from the 3rd secret was Pope John Paul I, after all, Sr. Lucia recognized JPI when he visited her as a mere inauspicious bishop, dropping to her knees and exclaiming, "Holy Father!"... would this not strongly suggest that she recognized him as the Pope of her vision, recognizing his face? How else would she recognize him as a future pontiff, as she was not known to be a seer or the gift of prophecy outside of the specific visions she received. Yet many reasonable people scoff at the idea of JPI being assassinated by the KGB, yet we know that at least since Josef Stalin, infiltration of the Church hierarchy was the NKVD's number one mission, with an increased fury after Stalin's attempted character assassination of Pius XII fell flat in 1946, though it has re-emerged in more recent years; the now released archives of the Kremlin confirm this.

I don't understand why it's so inconceivable when people accept that Pope St. JPII survived an assassination attempt hatched by the Bulgarian Secret Police at the behest of the KGB for the same reason, that both Popes were staunchly anti-Communist that had no intention of continuing to placate the Kremlin just to keep order at the WCC, or to avoid persecution of Catholics in Hungary, Croatia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia in particular. I also believe that JPI would have performed the Consecration of Russia, there is strong anecdotal evidence that he indicated this verbally; would Satan not do *all* possible in his power to stop this, using every single person on Earth under his influence to accomplish this, including the most obvious of using KGB agents within the Vatican to kill the Pope before he had a chance to, and trying, furtively, of course, to have a non-complying Pope elected in the wake of the assassination?

I believe the Consecration requested by Our Lady was fulfilled on March 25, 1984 by JPII *exactly* because he believed Our Lady of Fatima saved his life, misdirecting the bullet aimed at his heart with her very own actual hand, as Sr. Lucia concurred that the Consecration was fulfilled, so her vision of the flaming lance that separates, a nuclear war between the CCCP and the United States of America which would have taken place some time after March 25, 1984, was averted, and instead the fall of Communism, for the most part, took place, the arm of Christ's Justice of the minor chastisement stayed by His mother, the Consecration, and the devotion to the rosary, etc., as requested by Our Lady.

I think the 100 years will end on Oct. 13, 2017... and if people wonder, what about the great martyrdom of the clergy predicted in the 3rd secret, remember besides the October revolution in Russia, the Mexican Constitution of 1917 whose anti-Catholic and specifically anti-clerical articles led to the *massive* slaughter of clergy in Mexico, and La Cristiada. And though history has largely re-writtten the truth of the history of the Spanish Civil War, somehow painting the Republicans as 'the good guys' and Franco and the Carlists as 'the bad guys', we should remember that the Republican supporters slaughtered 6,832 priests and religious in a matter of months: 4,184 priests, 2,365 monks and friars, 283 nuns, and 13 bishops and archbishops... the undeniably worst massacres of clergy since before the time of Constantine the Great. And this doesn't even consider the unknowable amount of martyrdom of the underground clergy in Communist nations from Poland to China to Vietnam, it could very well number in the many hundreds of thousands of clergy, we may never know until we hopefully all make it to Heaven.

It may seem to others naive of me to see the 3rd secret having already been fulfilled by what I strongly suspect was the assassination of JPI, and the slaughter of clergy that began almost *immediately* after the last apparition of Our Lady at Fatima on October 13, in Russia and other Communist controlled nations, in Mexico, in Spain, in Germany and Poland under Hitler... it all seems too obvious, too right in front of our noses, but just stop to think about it all put together for a moment... the vision of Leo XIII on the special day of October 13, the hundred years, the massive unleashing of unprecedented war and slaughter, especially of the clergy *right* after October 13, 1917, and the chance that the minor chastisement might actually have been avoided because of the March 25, 1984 Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart.

Perhaps if Pope John XXIII had performed the Consecration in 1960, such events as the near nuclear exchange miss of the Cuban Missile Crisis, not to mention other close calls during the Reagan era now unclassified, made both by misunderstandings by the Soviets and NATO, the Kennedy Assassination, which I believe was done at the behest of the KGB, the further slaughter in Vietnam, Indonesia, etc., all the problems that both Communism and Fascism, the evil opposite-twins, caused and all that death, the assassination of JPI and the attempted assassination of JPII, perhaps it could have been avoided altogether, but whether it was to assure the observation status of the Orthodox delegation to the Second Vatican Council, it doesn't really matter.

I may be wrong. My reasoning may be unsound. But it makes much sense to me. And I pray I'm right. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Sorry if I wasn't as charitable as I could have been in my wording in my questioning of your using the term 'Irishman' in the way that it was, but I feel very protective on this matter and maybe you need to understand why.

I find it very hard to understand why "I mean an Irishman say's the devil entered Garabandal... " couldn't have been just as easily and less offensively put as "I mean someone say's the devil entered Garabandal..."? If the person who said it were Black, would you have said, "I mean a Blackman say's the devil entered Garabandal... ", I can't see what bearing whatsoever the man's ethnicity needs to be brought into the picture, or of its relevance at all.

My wife is Irish, and she's experienced at least as much racism in her life at 39, especially when she used to live in London, as any one that is Black living in the Southern U.S. has I would venture to guess. Even here now in Canada, where we live, the Orange Order is very strong... as my father's funeral last month my cousin who is an Orangeman refused to speak to my spouse solely because she's Irish Catholic. The last time we received a package from Wexford that went through transit at Heathrow as airmail, the person working at Heathrow that inspected it scrawled all over the inside of the package in red marker before resealing it, "Fenian Scum". This is going not 100 years ago, or even during the 70s, this is happening today.

So even if you live in an area where using 'Irishman' in a derogatory or even unnecessary matter, please, please remember this is an international forum, and be respective of that fact. Comments that might not be hurtful to the people in your immediate vicinity might not be so innocuous everywhere. Pax Christi.

""Then we have the restraining force which holds back the appearance of the Antichrist (traditionally held to be the Great Monarch)".......................................................................................Emmett - how would you argue against the proposition that this 'Great Monarch' & antichrist are one and the same person? Consider also the prophecies regarding the antichrist."

This isn't Emmett, but I hope you don't mind if I take a crack at this one Emmett as it seems fairly straightforward to me.

I've seen this idea propagated by various Protestant websites on prophecy as well, that the Great Monarch will actually be the Beast, and the Angelic Shepherd will be the Antichrist, or some permutation of this.

Firstly, I'm not sure why any Catholic would take heed of anything coming out of a Protestant viewpoint, as they don't have the protection of Christ in being protected from error in teaching as our Church has, and we alone hold the full Deposit of Faith, Scripture *and* Tradition, while Protestants only have half the story so to speak, relying on Scripture alone.

But by way of apologetics, I think an easy answer would be that when the Great Monarch does arrive, there are many very specific signs of the Antichrist that he could be tested by, and probably the easiest of these would be that a defining sign of the Antichrist, as well as any small 'a' antichrists such as Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc., is that the Antichrist will deny the Incarnation, that God was born to Our Lady as Jesus Christ on Earth. If the Great Monarch proclaims that Christ indeed came in the flesh, then he will automatically ruled out as being the Antichrist, or even a small 'a' antichrist.

This is what make ridiculous claims by personages from Martin Luther to Ian Paisley that the Popes are antichrist, for even the worst popes we had throughout history, even the ones that used papal residences as brothels, none of them propagated false doctrines, and not one of them denied the Incarnation, so, *boom*, according to Scripture they cannot by definition be antichrist.

And though it could be argued that no individual Catholics outside of the magisterium, that is pope and the bishops who are in communion with him, why would Christ allow so many saints and blesseds declared as so by the Church throughout history to all make false and misleading prophesies about the Great Monarch and the Angelic Shepherd? It doesn't make any sense, either spiritually or temporally, for Christ to allow that.

Now, to convince someone in heresy as a Protestant of this, they'd first have to accept the whole idea of the Catholic Church alone holding the Deposit of Faith, so you'd be in for a *much* bigger discussion lol, but you could point out that if the Great Monarch, when/if he arrives, if he proclaims that Christ came in the flesh, he cannot be the Antichrist.

While I'm posting again, Emmett, I had a quick question for you. I know my theory on the Third Secret of Fatima having already been fulfilled doesn't line up with your ideas on the subject, but if my belief that the 100 years of Satan's increased power on Earth end on October 13, 2017, thinking of your article on St. Don Bosco's vision of the Barque of Peter, would this mean that on that same date Satan would be cast down to Earth, thereby having to transfer his temporal power to the personage of the Antichrist?

Would that mean that perhaps the Antichrist would be born at that time, or that he would already exist, but would not recieve the full power of Satan until the moment of the end of the 100 years? I just find the exact 33 years between Leo XIII's vision and the last appearance of Our Lady at Fatima to be significant with the 33 years of Jesus' life on Earth before the Crucifixion, it makes me wonder that maybe if the Antichrist were born at the moment of Satan being cast down and needing to transfer his temporal power, perhaps the Antichrist in a mocking imitation of Our Lord, or maybe as a decision of Our Lord, would also have 33 years in his life. It would make an interesting bookend on each side of the 100 years, one beginning with Leo XIII's vision, the other with the complete defeat of Antichrist ending in, I guess it would be 2050.

But then that would not really allow for Pope Francis to be the Angelic Shepherd, unless the Antichrist is already around, and the end of the 100 years, if it is to take place on October 13, 2017, would mean just a full transfer of Satan's power to him, and that the Great Chastisement is not so very far off at all... now I can't even rationally think right now whether that would invalidate my theory of Pope John Paul I as the assassinated pope from the Third Secret as well as Don Bosco's vision, or further confirm it... if Pope St. John Paul II was then the pope to oversee the Second Pentecost, then why didn't that happen? Or perhaps because he was the first Pope to give his blessing and encouragement to the Charismatic movement, maybe he *did* preside over the *beginning* of the Second Pentecost. I guess the First Pentecost started off with a small amount of people and grew from there, so why would the Second Pentecost not follow the same pattern? Hmmm.

Emmett, this stuff is making my head spin, and I guess that's maybe why the caution of Our Lord that only the Father knows the hour, as not to get so married to any one theory that is too specific, I don't know how you keep all of this straight. I need to read more of your book!

Anon @0332 - I don't often reply to anonymous posts, but will in this case. Nothing derogatory was intended towards the Irish. It was poking a bit of fun at our host, who has always had a sense of humor.

And sign your posts. You'll find you get much deeper answers if you hang a name at the end of you posts, even if it's a goofy made-up name.

Lol! Look what we have started Mark! Anon the article from spirit daily that Mark recommended to read mentioned the word "Irishman" to describe the man who spoke against Garabandal. The article didn't mention his name and called him the "Irishman." We were discussing the article, not insulting the Irish.

On June 30th, an unexpected blood moon was seen over a significant portion of the United States. This also happens to be the exact day when the Supreme Court gay marriage decision came out.

The following is an excerpt from a recent article by Caiden Cowger…

On June 30, 2015, a surprise blood moon appeared in the sky, that was only seen in the United States.According to the National Weather Service, large wildfires in Canada have been burning. Due to extremely high winds, smoke from these fires have traveled into the United States.According to NBC-Chattanooga, “the smoke should remain in the higher atmosphere and not affect air quality, it gives the moon and sun a rosy glow.Here’s what causes the effect:As light from the moon or sun enters the atmosphere it gets scattered by particles like water, aerosols, and in this case smoke. Green, blue, and purple colors are sent in all directions but colors with longer wavelengths like red, orange and yellow continue through the atmosphere and remain visible to the human eye.”

I'm not a fan of his conclusions, but I think he does get feelings from above. I've exchanged e-mails with him a couple of times, and I can say that he is truly sincere and tries to avoid error. I just think he's a bit too close to millenialists to be right in his conclusions.

Say what you like about the Irish. But just always expect a punch in the face in return!

Jason - I think a distinction needs to be made between the casting down of Satan to earth and the period of the triumph of the Church. These two events do not happen at the same time, but rather there is a period in-between where the Church is persecuted more than ever, and is threatened to be swept away entirely. The casting down of Satan to earth after his "little while" is a great victory in heaven, and allows for the eschatological outpouring of the Holy Spirit (which will eventually leads to the restoration of the Church). But we find that once Satan has been cast to earth he pursues the Church with even greater fury, since he knows that his time on earth is short. It is only when things seem at their very darkest, when the Church is threatened with being swept away entirely by the rage of the Devil during the age of apostasy, that the earth will come to the aid of the Woman Adorned with the Sun, and the flood poured forth from the mouth of the Great Dragon will be swallowed up. "And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea."(Rev 12:13-17)

All the eschatological signs of Satan being thrown down to the earth have already occurred at the turn of the millennium. This means that we are now in the era when Satan is pursuing the Church with even greater fury, just before the flood poured out from his mouth is swallowed up during the restoration of the Church (which I hope and pray very much is related in some way to the year 2017). After the triumph of the Church, the Great Dragon becomes even more enraged, and sets about preparing his final onslaught against the offspring of the Woman during the Great Persecution under the Antichrist - which we then see unfolding in Rev 13. He does so by transferring his great power and authority to his servant the Beast, who rises from the watery chaos of the sea after the destruction of Babylon. As to exactly when this transference of power takes place, I very much doubt that it would occur during the very birth of the Antichrist (since this would involve predestining a child to eternal damnation), but rather when he comes of age to shoulder the responsibility for his actions himself. Satan offered Christ complete world domination during Our Lord's temptation in the desert. The Evil One will make the same offer to the Antichrist, who will not follow Jesus in rejecting this offer of temporal rule. Instead he will accept it fully, and bow down and worship at the feet of Satan.

Chris,Where was the video about Cahn and the pergamon altar again? I've been pointing to the importance of this for some time now, especially in relation to the timing of its erection in Berlin in 1901 - right at the very beginning of the "little while" of Satan. This act certainly didn't bode well for the country it was placed in. It would be interesting to hear what he has to say on this matter.

My only sticking point is with the altar and its significance, given that it is a museum piece. It seems strange to ascribe to it that depth of power (even in the video Cahn says "it's like Indian Jones, only true"). It sounds as though all this evil was foisted upon Germany because archeologists rebuilt an ancient artifact in a museum. How could they have known that this was going to happen? It almost smacks of magical powers and such.

Now, if that altar had been used as part of the seat of their government and they publicly decree and end to Christianity and an acknowledgement of the old gods or something perhaps. But to have a museum piece reconstruction usher in a Satanic era, Hitler and all the rest? I'm missing a part of all this somewhere.

It's not so much that the Pergamon Altar has any inherent magical powers, or that Germany fell into evil because of this discovery in itself. Rather, we should think of its erection in Berlin in 1901 as a prophetic sign of what Germany would become. I think his most important insight is that the Pergamon Altar, which was dedicated to Zeus, is related to the original abomination of desolation, which was an altar to Zeus established by Antiochus Epiphanes on the Temple Mount. The way in which he relates this to the Holocaust is fascinating. It actually very closely parallels my own theory about the prophecies of the 1,290 and 1,260 days of the abomination of desolation, and how they are related to the construction of Dome of the Rock. This gives the exact date of the Jewish restoration in 1948, and can be used to identify Hitler with the "little horn" in the Book of Daniel, who we are told persecutes the Jews before they have their land restored to them.

Defending Father Gruner's Statusand Reputation from Enemies within the Church

http://www.fatima.org/apostolate/vlarchive/pdf/VL161-0415.pdf

The enemies (some deliberate, some in ignorance) attack Father’s statements and the literature produced by Our Lady’s Fatima apostolate especially pertaining to the Third Secret and the Consecration of Russia. .................

Thanks Emmett, I realized my mistake after I wrote that and pondered it in reflection.

"Not causative," I realized, "but a sign."

While listening to the video, causation seemed to be implied at first.

May Our Lord continue to bless you in your work. What you are doing is very important. Solid orthodox Catholic eschatology which doesn't shrink back out of fear of being dismissed as "end times alarmist" is in short supply. I have tried to direct friends here, but most everyone I know is simply fearful of either "being wrong" or, as one friend warned me, of "falling into that end-times 'trap'."

This, to me, is part of the mystery of the all of the virgins - both the wise and the unwise - falling asleep before the bridegroom returns. When better to fall asleep than at a time when those many consider on the fringe are looking for his return. They get tired of hearing it for decades so they become dismissive.

I know what you mean Chris, but I also fear that many Protestants will be put off from joining the Catholic Church because of such anxiety over a one world religion. The thing is, we must believe that there will be a one world religion - in the form of the Catholic Church, just before the end of the world. Not in any notions of "Chrislam" of course, but in the triumph of the Church, when the peoples of the world accept that Catholicism is the only true religion. This is the evangelisation of all peoples which must take place before the end of the world, foretold by Christ in Matt 24. After this will come the Antichrist, who will attempt to usurp the hedgemony of the Church in his quest for world domination.

The Bible Prophesied About Obama’s ‘Nuclear Deal With Iran’ And Predicted It Will Be A Complete CatastropheWhich brings me to my second challenge to the world of doubting Thomases. When it comes to the destruction of end-days Babylon “Babylon is fallen is fallen”, how come Scripture makes no mention of any of the ancient Babylonian cities: Nineveh, Ur, Babel, Erech, Accad, Sumer, Assur, Calneh, Mari, Karana, Ellpi, Eridu, Kish, or Tikrit? Why are all of the literal references in Scripture that when it comes to “Babylon” the vicinities and towns are all in Arabia, not Iraq or even Rome as many assume?

Sorry Mark, I didn't mean to escape the scrutiny of my attached identity, I'll sign my name from now on, it was just an oversight on my part. And thanks for your response again, Emmett. And my apologies about being sensitive about the Irish thing.

Jason

p.s. I live in the province where all that forest fire smoke is coming from, we've had very blood red moons for quite a while now; the air has been blue with smoke everyday here, but we finally are getting rain for the first time all summer now.

Hi Emmett, I just have one quick question about the altar to Jupiter/Zeus; if the discovery and re-erection of the altar served as a prophetic sign, well, it just made me wonder, was the original Abomination of Desolation, was it right in the Holy of Holies?, especially bad because Zeus represents an actual fallen angel? For that matter, the small 'g' gods that Israel was punished for syncretically adopting along side their worship of the big 'g' God in Yahweh, e.g. Astarte, Ba'al, was their worship of them evil, just in and of itself, because of the breaking of the first commandment, or was it especially loathsome because Astarte and Ba'al, as examples, are actually demons as well?

Does the Church, or have any of the Fathers of the Church, considered and answered this question? I guess maybe it's neither here nor there, but I never considered before that any of the Norse, or Greek/Roman, or Babylonian, or Egyptian, or Canaanite pantheons may represent actual demons. It seems after I looked Ba'al up on Wikipedia that it manifests itself cross-culturally as Hadad, Hamon, Cronos/Saturn, Thor/Donar, and maybe Moloch if Ba'al is considered a generic term like 'lord' in reference to Moloch. It just makes me wonder, too, since Moloch was placated by continual infanticide and sacrifice of young children, if Moloch does represent an actual personage of a demon how it might be thriving in a real sense since Roe v. Wade, etc., in Western countries. It has me curious, but I can't really find anything after a bit of searching if the Church or its Fathers ever commented on this idea one way or another.

Regarding your question about the pagan gods: In the City of God (can't remember which book) Augustine comments that the gods of the Romans are actually demons, and I'm pretty sure that Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, in her visions of the Holy Family's flight into Egypt, mentions that the gods of the Egyptians were also actually demons. There was also a book written in the past decade (can't remember the title or author) about how the scourge of abortion directly parallels ancient sacrifices to Moloch, but it was for better or worse (I think worse) kind of suppressed since people thought it would be a bad image for the pro-life movement.

Thanks for the information Andrew. I have City of God so I'll try to find that part, it's unfortunately one of those books I bought years ago but have never even cracked the cover on yet... I think it's the length of the book that I find intimidating for some reason rather than any of the content, though I don't always feel that way, I read through the Desmond Birch book that I discovered through references to it by Emmett.

With Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich, I did a web-search and found this site, http://www.jesus-passion.com/DOLOROUS_PASSION_OF_OUR_LORD_JESUS_CHRIST.htm, and got really caught up reading it, wow, I just clicked on the part about Veronica and had a hard time quitting reading to get back to this post. I'd heard of her around the time The Passion of the Christ was released, but didn't know her writing was in the public domain and available in HTML like this. I can't find anything about Our Lord's childhood years in this online book so far, but I'll look for other things from her. In any case, thank you for introducing me to her writing in a way, it's fascinating.

What you shared about who I guess would be the fallen angel, Moloch, is chilling, really chilling that other people have made that association as well. The sheer number of children killed over the last 45 or so years through abortion, I don't know if there's any precedent for it, but I'd have to think it must dwarf the amount that were killed back in Canaan in ancient times, it's really painful just to think about the immensity of our transgression.

With Our Lord's perfect justice and the blood of all those innocents, well, it makes it easier, almost expectedly so, to understand the severity of how we will have to answer for what we've done as a society through the minor chastisement; it's hard to imagine that much could be mitigated with how widespread the sin and so deeply ingrained.

I read on Fr. James Martin, SJ's Facebook page just yesterday comments from people who think of themselves as practicing Catholics parroting secular humanist talking points that having an abortion is actually a very selfless and even noble act because we have too many people on the planet. Reading those comments were nauseating, that people can be that self-deluded. I commented back that the Earth can sustain life at many times the current population, I'd attended two seminars in the past that showed the hard science to prove it, that we don't have an overpopulation problem, but a sharing problem. Christ have mercy on us all though we certainly don't deserve it.

Pax Christi,Jason

p.s. I'm not able to attend Mass, I haven't been since the end of October other than for my father's funeral Mass in June... could you remember me in your prayers when you go to Mass if you're going today Andrew? Thanks in advance for that as well.

I just came upon this passage from the Book of Enoch, and even though it's noncanonical we know through their writings that both Irenaeus and Tertullian regarded it highly... and it still gives me chills just thinking that a fallen angel actually might have taught the act of abortion to man directly as the other fallen angels are ascribed the introduction of other evils, like introducing certain tools of warfare, hallucinogenic drugs, etc.:

"And the fifth was named Kasdeja: this is he who showed the children of men all the wicked smitings of spirits and demons, and the smitings of the embryo in the womb, that it may pass away, and [the smitings of the soul] the bites of the serpent, and the smitings which befall through the noontide heat, the son of the serpent named Taba'et."

__________________________________________________ UNDER THE RADAR: APPARITIONS IN AMAZON HAVE APPROVAL OF LOCAL BISHOP [​IMG][​IMG]Somehow, it has been under the radar: in deepest Brazil, near the dense and forbidding forests of the Amazon, in fact in a state called Amazona, the Blessed Virgin Mary reportedly has been speaking to a duo of visionaries since 1994 in a city called Itapiranga as well as the state capital in apparitions that seem to have approval of the local bishop, who issued a nihil obstat and quominus imprimatur on the Solemnity of the Pentecost in 2009. "I was asked to express my views about the authenticity of the apparitions of Mary as Our Lady Queen of the Rosary and Peace in Itapiranga during the years 1994-1998," wrote Archbishop Carillo Gritti of Itacoatiara (the apparitions at Itapiranga formally ended in 1998 and are now mainly received elsewhere). "Many believers and some bishops have pointed out the urgent need for clarification in this regard. I am also personally aware that the development of devotion, which spans a period of fifteen years, so requires. As for the supernatural character and content of the messages, I see that this devotion has taken place in the life of faith of thousands of faithful. I have also been given testimonies of conversion and reconciliation, as well as healing and special protection. In full recognition of the responsibility of the Holy See, it is primarily the task of the local bishop to decide, according to their conscience, the authenticity of private revelations that are occurring or have occurred in his diocese. For this reason, with regard to the results of previous investigations and questions and objections arising from them, I once again asked the advice of some theologians and psychologists. I testify that in their opinion there are no fundamental theological and psychological impediments to the recognition of the supernatural authenticity. Considering these opinions, testimonies, and developments, and pondering all this in prayer and theological reflection, everything leads me to finding that there is in the appearances of Itapiranga a supernatural origin." The bishop added that while such apparitions, visions, and locutions come through the "filter of the senses" (and thus can be and are influenced by human factors), they may also be viewed as an aid to understanding "the signs of the times." continued in next frame---

“Gold that is hoarded makes one a miser. Knowledge that is selfishly possessed makes one proud. Flesh that is too cared for turns into lust. It is the things that are spent, wasted for God’s sake that become remembered through history. “ Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheenmothersuperior7, Jan 15, 2013#1mothersuperior7mothersuperior7PowersStaff Member

"The signs of our times are dramatic," said Archbishop Gritti, according to an initial translation of his notation. "It is my sincere belief that devotion to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, and Queen of Peace, can help us, in the drama of our time, to find the right path, the path towards a new and unique coming of the Holy Spirit, He Who alone can heal the great plagues of our time." It is to be sure strong language for an archbishop. We are in the process of official confirmation. The archbishop is seen in videos at the site of apparitions, where he bestowed blessings.

2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come. 3 You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; 4 and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening.

Will a red cow ignite the Mideast?Jewish activists will try to birth red heifer, which they see as key to building third Temple in Jerusalem where mosques now stand.By Nir Hasson 14:05 17.07.15 13

Chris, I wasn't able to read the content of the Ha'aretz article as I don't have a subscription. Are you able to provide a little more of the detail of the red heifer article without infringing on any copyrights, etc.?

Jason;I hope you are well.I send a few articles. I enjoy reading these things but have no trouble sleeping. If you are new to these things perhaps a slow entry is called for.Say a prayer for me,.chris

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/198549#.VbJVMflVhBcActivists Call to Rebuild Third Temple on Tisha B'AvTemple Faithful Movement plans march to demand government 'remove enemies from Temple Mount and rebuild third Temple.'

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/198621Watch: Architectural Plans for Third Temple Have Begun

http://www.escapeallthesethings.com/red-heifer.htm

http://www.khouse.org/articles/1997/15/Why All the Excitement?

A red heifer was to be the means for the congregation of Israel to purify themselves, as specified in Numbers 19. It is this Torah connection which drives some of the religious Jews of today to prepare for the coming priesthood and temple services.

Thanks Chris, and I'll heed your warning since I am very new to all this stuff. Even the question of what is/was Babylon the Great, some websites say definitively it is the Kaaba/Mecca, others definitely that it is the world financial capital of NYC, others, nope, it is definitely Turkey under the auspices of a soon-to-come renewed Ottoman empire/Turkic sultanate.

They all make pretty compelling arguments, but so much is speculative and conjecture... one of the reasons I really appreciate Emmett's work drawing from sources we know are more apt to be fully trusted i.e. Saints and Blesseds, etc. But all the supplementary reading, this about the red heifer and groups actively working towards a re-dedication of the Temple, it's fascinating stuff.

I just read today after following some of your links that in Judaism it is against their practices to ruin a holy building of another religion... but perhaps if an earthquake, or *the* earthquake, flattened the Dome of the Rock or the nearby mosque, or in a missile exchange with say Iran or Pakistan, and if in tandem the foundations of the old temple were somehow revealed so they knew the location of the Holy of Holies, etc., the idea of a new temple coming on the scene in a relatively short amount of time isn't so far-fetched. But I take things that don't come from acknowledged Blesseds, Saints, Doctors, Early Fathers and Popes, etc. with a bigger grain of salt, false prophecies having such a potential for spiritual deception and all that.

One thing I thought of - if the Israeli's wanted to absorb the two muslim pieces of architecture that are currently on the site of the old temple, I think it would be somehow fitting if they were to turn the tables on the Hagia Sophia. Simply incorporate the dome and the mosque into the new temple. Can you imagine how the modern Saracens would react if the dome on the rock were turned into the Holy of Holies? (with a massive amount of spiritual cleansing and fresh paint).

After reading this stuff for way too many years, I can make and biblically present an argument that the next world shaking event with regards to israel, will be the regaining OF greater ISREALthrough a war which will increase their power and size immensly. The need to worry over the dome will not be needed. I think this will happen in our lifetime and before benedict passes.

One way of reconciling these points of view is related to the two accounts of Temple construction in the Bible. The details of the First Temple, known as Solomon’s Temple, are described in the Book of Kings, beginning in the sixth chapter. This description is extensive and quite detailed. The First and Second Temples were built according to the directions that appear in the Book of Kings....................................

When we fast, we are not forcing God to do something, but are resisting supernatural strongholds and powers. Someone might say, "Why is this necessary when Christ has all power?" I do not know the answer to this question, but I do know that Christ said, "This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

Pope Benedict XVI wrote an excellent short piece on fasting, calling it "an important ascetical practice, a spiritual arm to do battle against every possible disordered attachment to ourselves." (Message for Lent, 2009)

Chris the article you posted has a number of errors in it. It says "fasting is not an ascetical practice." Clearly it is. It says "fasting is not to be observed as a ritual done every week." The Didache, or "Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," is one of the earliest Christian treatises, dated to mid-late first century. Free online version here:

http://www.paracletepress.com/didache.html

In 8:1 it says to fast Wednesdays and Fridays. This was the practice since ancient times.

So fasting is of profound importance, but we should use the vast body of solid Catholic writings on it since ancient times to learn about it, not documents from Baptist Fundamentalists.

That's a good point vis-a-vis the Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock. It would make a lot of sense for the rock to be the focal point, other than the Ark of course, in the Holy of Holies if it is indeed the rock that Yahweh built the rest of the universe upon as is it's believed to be by some traditions as I've read. I didn't know much about the Hagia Sophia until a friend of mine sent me photos and a postcard from there, it shows a strange contrast with how other religions, generally, treat other's holy spots as opposed to Islam seems to have historically, again, generally speaking.

I have to admit though, I wish all other's holy places could be respected as long as they weren't build over top the demolished remains of another religion... yes, I know how hypocritical that might sound considering how many Catholic holy places were built over former pagan holy places in Germanic and Anglo-Saxon areas, and even in Rome e.g. the Pantheon.

I just think of a friend of mine that served in UNPROFOR... he said they could see when approaching a village from many hundreds of yards away by what holy place was not burned down: the mosque, the Catholic church, or the Orthodox church. I don't know why, but to me that is just one of the saddest images I have in my mind from all the stories he told me of the atrocities and horrible things he experienced or witnessed in Bosnia and Croatia :/

I know this isn't a salient point for the discussions around Catholic prophecy regarding the Apocalypse and events leading to it, but I wonder, does any one know of any Orthodox prophecies regarding the recapture/rededication of Hagia Sophia to Christian use? Given the huge symbolic importance it plays, almost like "Next year in Jerusalem!" to the Jewish people I'd imagine, you'd think there'd be some. I websearched a bit for something and came up blank.

... though I did come across this, which I'm not endorsing in any way or the ideas in it at all, but made for interesting reading. I think I've seen other post to this fella's website previously, it gives a good historical/spiritual background to the Hagia Sophia, at least to a neophyte like me: http://propheciesoftheendtimes.com/?p=4598

I thank you for the education. I am not advocating or promoting these ideas. I came across an interesting article and posted it before reading totaly. . I AM LEARNING I SHOULD NOT DO THAT. But when corrrected I learn. However this is not the place to attempt this..Please forgive my error/s.

THANKS MARK. i DID NOT TAKE IT THAT WAY. hOWEVER I AM EMBARRASSED.. bUT I GUESS THAT IS HOW WE LEARN AND ACTUALLY I WAS IMPRESSED WITH YOUR RESPONSE. and please there is no need for you toapologize, i enjoy the learning opportunities that are discussed here. I am actually appreciatve.

so in

A WAY TO ASK FOR understanding i offer a link to a money saving drug card

Someone asked about prophecies regarding Hagia Sophia being reconquered by christians, well, I dont like to mix different prophecies cause it usually leads to confusion, but in the orthodox world there is a prophecy from Elder Paisios, who they regard as a saint, that following a war, Russia will invade Turkey and Istanbul is going to be christians once again. Just type Elder Paisios prophecy on youtube and you'll see.

This is fascinsting, but I'm having a hard time fitting the pieces together. If Israel is converted by the Angelic Pope, is there a remnant of Isreal left who later misidentifies the antichrist as the Jewish messiah? That would seem to imply that the One World religion isn't accepted by all.

Given the context here, I'm assuming that by "One World religion" you mean the restoration of the Church at the end time, when many people will be converted to Catholicism, including Jews, Orthodox, Protestants, etc. This term is usually applied to the one world religion that the Antichrist will attempt to install. Yes, Catholicism will not be accepted by absolutely everybody. As Christ explicitly states, the tares will exist alongside the wheat right up until the eschatological harvest at the end of the world (Matt 13:24-30). "Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”(Rev 22:11)

There will also be another falling away from the faith at the time of the Antichrist.

Thanks for the speedy reply, Emmett. I was fascinated by this stuff back in the 90's when I was still Protestant. I joined the Church in 2007, but this is my first attempt to look at end time prophecy with Catholic eyes. I thought I had read (probably in a com box) the terms One World Government and One World Religion used in a positive way to refer to the time when The Great Monarch and Angelic Shepard were in charge of everything. Believe me, as a former dispensationalist, those terms gave me pause the first time I ran into them in a Catholic context.

OK, so as amazing as those days with the Good Shepherd and Great Monarchist sound, not everyone will be on board. This makes me think that many of my former coreligionists will be 'left behind' as well.

Chris - I remember that game! I knew someone that had it. Tried to play it once but it was really confusing and boring. I also met Steve Jackson once or twice in the 80's. He was odd, I'll grant you that, but he didn't predict anything. He just logically worked out how a group like the illuminati might attack.

He also had a Cthulhu dice game and predicted the Mad Max movies and did one game called, "Awful Green Things From Outer Space".

Jackson is just another guy from Austin that gave us the likes of Wes Anderson and Berke Brethed...and me, to a lesser degree...all at the University of Texas at about the same time. Honestly, if Steve Jackson is part of the Illuminati, then we really shouldn't have any difficulty defeating them...if fact, they will eventually fall off their barstool onto a can opener and die.

I guess I should also say that Steve Jackson is a very clever guy and super creative in his own weird way. But a member of the international conspiracy to bring down western civilization and the Catholic Church? No.

This saddens me. I had hoped that when the Great Schism was healed and Protestants came back into the fold, the dispensationalists would recognize the truth and see their error. Instead it looks like they will be deluded to oppose the Angelic Shepherd. Ironically they believe that at the resurrection of the two witnesses, the scales will fall from the eyes of those who are still unbelievers. At that point, they themselves will have to realize their error.

My site is/was not meant as an end all answer to a conspiracy type subject. Rather the predictive coincidence's of a former cia agent is interesting to me. I guess it could all be chance.i submit another . The man has an intersting book. I have read it. I don't say it has the answers, but the evidence supporting a group, maybe jfkennedys secret society? There is a abundence of proofs showing an ongoing cult with tremedous power. It is an interesting read. However, it is just pieces of the puzzle. I am not advancing that it contains lifes truth. Just more info.

I read your comment about the cards.The problem in posting info like the card game is presenting a specific to support a larger idea. I didn't want to present jackson as a power broker. Google 911 in movies before 911.COINCIDENCE??????????????????????????????????????????? My intent was to present the idea that man operates in a condition known as time. Evil has been working in this perameter, time, to build up an entity that will have prepared the world to accomplish the acceptance of the anti-- anti everything really. So through generations power has been gleened and passed through generation to come to a point of utter control and influence.Sometimes we can see a bit of this power being exercised. The FED in 1913 being empowered, the communist controled UN being given power. ( http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/un_doesnt_want_you_to_know.htm)----------- What The U.N. Doesn't Want You To Know-----------I have come to the realization or my belief that these things are true and it's interesting even the Blessed Mother has said in a message that it is too late for any individual to change things.

I guess I thought that perhaps someday we would have woke up and recognized the times. But it looks as if we have to enter the times of Jacob to rid evil from the world. And i guess i thought that speaking, writing , posting might help to join a group to fight the battle.

But the adversary has everything disguised so people think western civ. and the catholic chuch will be uneffected.

i GET TO THE POINT OF WONDERING TO MYSELF WHY I READ OR POST REGARDING THIS TYPE OF INFO.I am trying to let it go and stop.

We just celebrated the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary this past Saturday. It was promulgated by Pius XII, four years after he defined dogmatically the Assumption in 1950. So I find this fascinating that you refer to him.

"At Ephrathah we heard of the ark, we found it in the plains of Yearim" (Psalm 132). A very old tradition is that Ephrathah is the same as Bethlehem. The two are certainly linked. Yearim is West of Jerusalem, and we know what joyous event happened there in the reclamation of the ark. Psalm 132 is used in the vigil Mass of the Assumption, specifically: "Go up Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength" (132.8). So this "going up" is used to consider Mary's Assumption.

At Ephrathah-Bethlehem we heard of Mary, we found her near Jerusalem.

At Yearim there is a beautiful church - Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant.

I am captivated by these things, and I think I would like to visit that church, and indeed also stand on top of Mount Nebo and contemplate the possibilities you raise in this post.

About Me

As part of research for my book Unveiling the Apocalypse: Prophecy in Catholic Tradition, I studied the Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic languages before graduating in 2006 with First Class honours. My book is the product of around ten years of original research. This blog is intended as a means of supplementing the material presented in the book by providing relevant up-to-date information.